For Microsoft Exchange, you can use the Exchange Database Agent to restore a database or to perform mining to recover granular mail data from an application-aware backup.
You can perform application-aware backups for standalone deployments of Microsoft Exchange, or for one or more member servers in a Database Availability Group (DAG) deployment.
Note
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To perform an application-aware backup for a member server in a DAG deployment, you must disassociate the server from the DAG client by removing the selection for the server in the Exchange Database DAG client. For more information, see Creating an Exchange DAG Client.
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If you schedule backups for multiple member servers in a DAG deployment, each member server is backed up completely. For example, if the Exchange database is active on node 1 and passive on nodes 2 and 3, and you schedule backups for all three nodes, you will get backups for node 1 (active), node 2 (passive), and node 3 (passive). Ensure that the backups are staggered so that multiple member servers are not being backed up at the same time.
Application-aware backups using the Virtual Server Agent are supported for the versions of Exchange that are listed in System Requirements - Exchange Database Agent. For message recovery, Microsoft Exchange 2010 or later is required.
License Requirements
An Application Class 1 license is required for the initial installation and configuration of application plug-ins. After the initial configuration is complete, application-aware backups release the Application Class 1 license and consume Application Class Virtual licenses instead.
Application Credentials
To perform backups and restores for Microsoft Exchange databases, a user account with Exchange administrator privileges is required.
.NET Requirement for MediaAgent
Depending on the hypervisor and the type of connection (HTTP or HTTPS), Microsoft .NET might be required on the MediaAgent that is used for backup or recovery. The following cases have been identified:
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.NET 3.5 or later is required for remote installs with Microsoft Hyper-V.
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.NET 4.5 or later is required when mounting the Exchange database with VMware.
Subclient Configuration
Include virtual machines running Microsoft Exchange in a separate subclient under a Virtual Server instance.
Log Truncation
Microsoft Exchange database logs are automatically truncated as part of the backup process.